Goddess of the Tenth Realm
by Vulcan Lily
Summary: Following events in A Leave of Absence, a student is gifted by the powers of the Egyptian Goddess, Ma'at. When Thor comes to visit the growing ranks of the Avengers, she offers to help Odin give the perfect punishment for the God of Lies. Living with the Goddess of Truth on Earth to help the Avengers.
1. Chapter 1

Hey folks! It's me, Vulcan Lily. I just recently finished my Blackeye fic, "A Leave of Absence"

It was pretty well received, and I'm kinda going Avengers crazy right now. So I'm gonna attempt to write 2 fics at once, since I'm also working on my dr who crossover series right now...

This takes place in the same universe as my last fic, and takes place after the events in "A Leave of Absene

anyway, I wanted to write a Loki fic, so here ya go.

_…..._

_…..._

Amber waited impatiently by a bathroom door.

"Come on, Amy! Dr. Bergdorf doesn't like it when we're late!" She looked in a mirror on the back of the hotel door, buttoning her shirt and making sure she was presentable before banging on the door again. She was American, with dark brown hair, almost black, with a few blond highlights.

"I'm coming I'm coming..." A female British voice came from the other side of the door, just as it clicked open. The other girl was petite looking, with big light green eyes and honey blond hair. Amber huffed.

"Come on! The other interns are probably already there..."

_…..._

The two girls arrived without a second to loose at the Cairo Museum. They were among the four interns that a world renowned Professor in Egyptology had picked. And sure enough, the other two students were already there.

"Hey Kirkland, hey Kelly," the first one called out, using their last names. He was the oldest, already in his thirties, and American like Amber. He was also big, looking like he might have been a prize fighter at some point in his life.

"Bert," Amber asked, dressing him, "why are you and Kyle like always at the museum? It's weird."

"Because we like it here!" exclaimed the second, with a slight German accent. He was the youngest, only just turned twenty. His blue-black hair was messy and hung down to his neck, contrasting against his pale skin.

"Now that you're all here...let me show you what we came here for..." a deeper voice suddenly cut in. They all turned at Dr. Bergdorf's voice. An average looking man, he was dressed in typical archeologist khaki and tanned from many hours under the Egyptian sun.

They followed through the halls of the museum, which were already starting to fill with tourists.

"As you all know, I discovered a hidden stone in the temple dedicated to the goddess Ma'at. That is what we will be seeing today." Amber exchanged an excited glance with Kyle, who loved Egypt as much as she did. The Ma'at Stone was one of the most famous discoveries in modern times.

All of the interns were from different universities. Amy was from Cambridge in Britain, while Amber herself was from Yale. Bert was a Harvard man, and Kyle had transferred to Princeton from Germany to pursue his English studies. But they all had one thing in common, a love for Egyptology and Archeology.

They had reached the halls where only authorized members were allowed. Dusty crates and old exhibits lined the walls. Whenever they passed a room, scientists, anthropologists, and archeologists could be seen pouring over some forgotten relic or mummy with various types of equipment.

"The Stone is right through here," The Dr. directed. They filed into yet another hallway, and after a few more turns, they had arrived.

"May I present the Ma'at Stone." They oohed and awed appropriately, and waited for him to continue.

"As you can see, the Stone has a feather set in the Ancient Egyptian form of concrete at its head, and it is very well preserved. Myself and several other experts agree that this feather was the most sacred Feather of Truth for the goddess.

"The rest of the stone is outlined in carvings of feathers and the scales of the Underworld. And you can clearly see the carving of Ma'at herself." Dr. Bergdorf gestured at the relief. "But the most famous aspect of this Stone is the writing."

Amber and the others looked at the glyphs. Most of the writing on the Stone was normal hieroglyphics, but a few lines that were separate from the others, near Ma'at's head, were different. They didn't match any of the knows glyphs in the world, and no one knew what they said.

It was when Amber first stepped closer to the Stone that she felt it...

"The normal writing reads, 'I am Ma'at, Goddess of Truth. Goddess of Justice. Goddess of Order. Through me the world is in perfect balance, and chaos is kept at bay.' After this it gets interesting, referring to the need for 'Ma'at's heir,' which is odd, a god needing a successor?"

"Does it say that 'only the purest of heart, worthy of me, may read below and accept my powers?" asked Amy, whose specialty was translating. Bergdorf adjusted his glasses, peering at the normal glyphs.

"Ahh yes, well done Miss Kirkland. I think your translation is much better. Why don't all of you come up and give it a crack?"

Amber felt drawn to the stone. As she and the others stepped closer to better read, her eyes went up to Ma'at's face.

Kyle noticed his friend's trance-like state. "Amber, are you feeling well?"

"I am Ma'at, Goddess of Truth. Goddess of Justice. Goddess of Order. Through me the world knew balance and chaos is at bay. Ra's first daughter, I am the law. Thoth was my husband and father of my children. Now he is gone along with the rest, and I am alone, without heiress. Only the one with heart light as a feather will know my words and know my power..."

"Very good, Miss Kelly! That is perhaps..." he was cut of by Amber, who continued reading the unknown text.

"Oh Ma'at, Mother of Truth! I your daughter, your servant, have come. The gods have gone, the Tenth realm dead, you have waited for my heart of feather to come. Now bestow your gift, if I am worthy, so you may join your beloved others."

She jerked her hand back, which had reached up to touch the Stone while she had read.

"Wha...what just happened?" she asked. Kyle and Bert exchanged glances, and Kyle started to twist his wrist watch nervously.

The feather started to glow.

"WOAH! Don't tell me I did that!" exclaimed Amber. Amy stared at her oddly. And then the relief of Ma'at came to life! A woman in Ancient Egyptian clothing was standing in front of them, the glowing feather floating down to her.

"Who are you and what do you want with this planet?" Bert barked. When Amber looked at him, she was surprised to see that he had a gun and it was trained on the goddess.

"Mr. Baron! Where did you get a gun..?" Dr. Bergdorf asked, sounded shocked.

"Just get behind us, Dr." advised Kyle, who was sitting like a frog next to Bert.

"Why are you sitting like that?" asked Amy.

"Really? You're worried about how I'm sitting when this is happening?" Kyle exclaimed, glancing back at her.

"Silence, Mortals!" commanded the goddess. All eyes fell on her as she caused a pair of scales to materialize. She then reached for Amber.

"I warned you!" Bert yelled, and fired his gun. The bullets stopped as if they had hit a wall, and Ma'at turned her gaze toward them. Bert's gun turned into a bird, which he promptly dropped.

Ma'at reached for Amber again, only to find Kyle had somehow appeared in front of her. Amber thought she smelled sulfur, and noticed with some alarm that Kyle was now covered in blue fur, had sprouted a tail, and was wearing some sort of weird black spandex uniform.

"Do not interfere, Neyaphem scum!" she said.

"What's a Neya-" he was cut of by the goddess batting him aside with her staff.

For the third time, Ma'at reached for Amber. A peculiar feeling washed over Amber, and she blanched when something that resembled a glowing human heart appeared in the goddess' hand and she weighed the heart against her feather. It balanced.

"Ahh...I have finally found you...but you are so young...so much to learn..." Ma'at seemed to be thinking aloud... "oh but of course..."

She placed her palm inches from Amber's face.

"I bestow upon you the power and title Ma'at, Goddess of Truth and Justice. I give you all my strength so you may be reborn, to become a god!" She lightly touched her palm down, and Amber felt a slight jolt surge into her body.

"But I cannot bestow wisdom...it seems I will be joining Thoth another day. I have found a purpose for my essence..." the goddess' eyes fell onto a gold amulet of a winged scarab beetle. "Yes, this will work nicely..."

The goddess seemed to whirl into the charm, which then flew at Amber, securing itself around her neck. It was then Amber blacked out.

_…..._

When Amber woke up, she was surprised to find herself sleeping in a cell.

___Mmmm...what happened again? We were looking a stone__..._ her thoughts were interrupted by feeling something on her neck. Her hands found it, and she realized it was the amulet from before. She remembered what had happened then.

___That's right! Ma'at..._

___Yes? _The voice rang in her mind, but it seemed to come from the pendant_. _

___You're in the...necklace?_

___Yes, young Godling. My essence it in this amulet, so I may teach you how to use these powers. My body is gone. You are now my body. You are now Ma'at._

___Powers?_

___Yes. You are no longer human. I turned you into my own race. It does not not matter how I did it. But my race is not from Midgard originally, and we live much longer and have abilities which made us appear like gods to ancient humans. So that is what we called our race. Gods._

___But what are my powers?_

___Each god had special talents. None can lie in your presence. They can, but you will know they lie. And you are stronger, can weave magic, and fly using your rainbow wings._

___Rainbow wings? That does not sound...well...powerful. Wait, what's Midgard?_

___Midgard is Earth. And rainbow wings are something all females of my race had. We can make them appear at will. You can see them on us in ancient human art._

Amber had to agree with the goddess. Ancient Egyptian art often depicted Isis, Ma'at, and other goddesses to have winged arms.

___So where are gods from? _she asked Ma'at.

___There are many worlds besides yours. We called them realms. I come from the tenth realm, which was known as Abyidosed. It was destroyed, and we came to Midgard, Earth. It is a long story which you will learn another time._

If the godess was going to say more, Amber didn't know for at that moment, her sell door opened to reveal Bert.

"Bert! Oh my god what happened? Where am I?"

"First off, my name isn't Bert Baron. It's Barney Barton. Agent Barney Barton. And you are in the SHIELD headquarters in Cairo."

"What?"

"I'll explain later..." Barney clicked on a hidden screen in the wall as Kyle walked in, still blue and with a tail.

"Let me guess, your name's not Kyle."

"Nope. It's Kurt Wagner."

"Agent?"

"Ja. And in case you were wondering, yes I have a tail. I'm a mutant."

"Well I'm apparently a goddess," she retorted.

"About that, Miss Kelly..." a new voice filled the room, and Amber found herself staring at the screen Barney had clicked on. A black man with an eyepatch stared back down at her.

"Erm...Hi?" she said lamely, "who are you?"

"Director Fury. What do you know about the being you contacted you?"

"Umm..Ma'at? She's a goddess of truth..."

"We know that, Miss Kelly. What did she do to you?"

"Oh, um, well..."

"What?" he sounded agitated.

"I said she gave me her powers. In fact, I just had a little chat with her in my mind."

…...

1 week later

…...

Amber was adjusting well to her new life. SHIELD had tested her powers, and sure enough, she was stronger than any human, as well as faster and more resilient. And she was a walking lie detector.

SHIELD had given her the codename of Goddess, which would also serve as her hero name. She still couldn't believe they wanted her to join the Avengers, the group that had saved the world a few weeks back...

…**...**

**yeah I know bad ending. But it was getting crazy long...and yes, Barney Barton and Kurt Wagner(Nightcrawler) are here. The way they fit in is like in my previous story...they are owned by Marvel**

**the next chapter will have some explaining so bear with me**


	2. Chapter 2

**So yeah I wasn't very happy with the first chapter, but it had to be done to get the ball rolling. And now it will get interesting. And sorry about the wait for an update**

…**... **

Barney was the group's new handler agent, even though he had only been with SHIELD a few weeks himself. He had explained that he, Kurt, and a few other agents had all been recently rescued from a criminal circus by two of the Avengers, Black Widow and Hawkeye. He had gone on to explain how Kurt was joining the Avengers with her as well as two others from the circus.

Amber fiddled with her necklace as Barney flew in closer to Avenger's tower. She was nervous, to say the least. She had only had her powers for around a week, and she still needed to learn to fight. But apparently that could be learned at the Tower and was part of the reason was she had been made an Avenger.

___You seem agitated__. _Ma'at's voice rang in Amber's skull.

___I just can't believe it...I'm joining the group that saved the planet..._

___It is fitting. Do not fret so. You will learn what you need to._

"You're quiet," Kurt's voice cut through Amber's inner conversation.

"What? Oh, just talking to, you know, her."

"Oh." he paused, then, "will you ask her what a Neyaphem is? She called me that during Cairo.."

Amber waited for a brief moment, and then Amber relayed the information.

"She says that Neyaphem is the name a group of ancient mutants that looked like devils called themselves. They got trapped in another dimension...well most. They tended to cause trouble for Ma'at's people and that's why she called you scum. She said she's sorry."

"It's fine," grinned Kurt.

"Why were you guys in Cairo anyway? No one ever got around to telling me..."

"Barney and I were testing out field work for SHIELD by investigating some illegal weapons trade. They were using artifacts for smuggling goods...so interns was the best cover." Kurt explained.

"Ahh. I guess that makes sense..." Amber trailed off as they landed. Avenger Tower, previously known as Stark Tower, was still under some repair, but for the most part, it was done. It wasn't officially called Avengers Tower, but since Tony Stark had left the lone 'A' on the building, the name had stuck.

"Well we're here kids..." Barney said as the exited the quinjet. Next to them, two people were coming out of a second quinjet.

"Hey bro. Are these the new recruits?" They all turned to see a man who faintly resembled Barney approaching them. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt and a pair of athletic shorts.

"Hey Clint. I'm surprised Tony Stark himself isn't here to break 'em in."

"Wait, are you guys related?" Amber asked suddenly. Barney laughed heartily.

"Amber, this is my brother, Agent Clint Barton."

"But most of the world knows me as Hawkeye. Now all you newbies, just follow the British robot voice until you find the rest of the team."

As the walked down the halls, Amber looked at the other two who were coming with them.

"So we know Kurt. Who're you?" asked the girl suddenly. She had dark hair and her lipstick couldn't have gotten anymore red.

"Oh..I'm Amber...Kurt and Barney picked me up in Egypt. Who are you guys?"

"I'm Wanda and this is my brother," she replied.

"I'm Pietro," the boy offered. He had such a light shade of hair, it looked white.

"Right this way please," the British voice came from the walls again. They followed its directions and found themselves in a living room like area where the rest of the Avengers were standing. Or who she assumed was the Avengers.

Tony Stark was behind the bar, drinking something and talking to a quiet looking man with glasses when he saw them.

"Hey it's the new guys!" he crowed. All the heads turned to look at them. Amber had to admit that she and the other newbies didn't look that impressive. They had a scrawny kid with white hair, a girl who was wearing a lot of black and red, Kurt just looking pale and thin since his hologram disguise was still on, and herself with her apple green eyes and blond highlights.

Clint came back into the room. Seeing this, Tony pointed at Amber's group.

"Come on, center of the room." They followed hesitantly. "All right, name, codename, and then power. We'll even do it... I'm Tony Stark, I'm known as Iron Man, and you all know what I do." The arch reactor glowed from under his shirt.

She and the other new recruits looked at the other older Avengers expectantly.

"Fine. You already know me. Clint Barton. Hawkeye. No powers, I just shoot and blow stuff up with arrows."

"I'm Natasha Romanoff," spoke up a woman sitting on one of the couches, "aslo known as the Black Widow. I'm like Clint with powers, I just don't use arrows."

"Bruce Banner, or the Hulk. I have the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing going," said the quiet man Tony had been talking to.

"I'm Steve Rogers. Or Captain America. Powers? Um...does super soldier count?"

"And we have Thor also known as Thor with power as Norse god of thunder, but he's not in town. So you are?" Tony looked at them expectantly. There was an awkward pause.

"Fine. I'm Pietro Maximoff and my codename is Quicksilver. I have mutant powers that let me run at high speeds."

"How fast?" Tony asked. Amber blinked, and then Pietro was holding Tony's drink. Tony just grinned.

"I'm his sister, Wanda Maximoff. I go by Scarlet Witch and I have mutant powers that let me manipulate various things with hexes. It's a complicated power."

"Alright then. What about you with the black hair?" Tony asked Kurt.

"I'm Kurt Wagner or Nightcrawler. As for my power...well my main one is teleporting..." he clicked his wristwatch to reveal his natural form, "I'm also a mutant. I'm blue and fuzzy with a tail and I have other small powers that involve climbing and blending in with shadows."

"That is cool. And what about you?" Amber found Tony stark looking at her.

"Oh..um...my name is Amber Kelly. SHIELD named me Goddess..." she trailed off as she focused on her new powers. She was trying to go into what she had dubbed 'god mode,' where she appeared in all her godly attire. Finally, she found it, and her body glowed a bit.

She stood before them in a skintight suit that had a short sheer skirt over it in Egyptian style. There were no sleeves and she had gold bands on her upper and lower arms. A gold circlet with a snake was on her head, and she held the golden staff that all Egyptian gods were depicted to carry.

"And I'm a goddess. I have strength and all that, and since I'm the Goddess of Truth, I can tell if people are lying. And according to Ma'at, I can fly, but I haven't found my wings yet..."

_…..._

Living with the Avengers was proving to be interesting. Certain people were closer than others, Amber had noticed. Clint and Natasha were inseparable, and Amber suspected there was something else going on. Kurt was friends with Clint, and they had a brother-like relationship.

She had nicknamed Tony and Bruce the 'Science Guys' due to the fact that they were always doing or talking something something science-y. Steve was a bit of a loner, but was friendly to everyone. The Maximoff twins tended to stick together, and Kurt was probably still her best friend. Thor was still on Asguard dealing with the Loki trials, but from what she had heard, he was hard not to like.

Tony's girlfriend, Pepper, was the only normal person in the tower, and before the new recruits had come in, the only other girl besides Natasha. But now that Amber and Wanda had arrived, Pepper had somehow managed to secure one of the game rooms every Sunday night, locking all males out. Sundays were girl days, full of chocolate and the occasional chick flick.

Amber was currently sitting in a beanbag chair during one such day, wearing sweatpants and eating a bowl of ice cream. She was sore, the past week had been filled with training.

"You expect me to believe that nothing happened between you two?" Pepper was grilling Natasha. Amber focused back on the conversation. They were talking about some trip that Clint and Natasha had gone on a few weeks earlier. Natasha was shaking her head.

"We're nothing but good friends." Something nagged at Amber's brain_. ____What's this? _she wondered absentmindedly.

_You are detecting a lie, young ____Godling._ Ma'at's voice filled her mind. She was surprised. She hadn't heard the goddess in a few days.

___A lie?_

___Yes. You __are ____the Goddess of Truth now, after all._

_"_Even the circus performers thought you were together." Wanda was saying.

"Nope. We're partners, nothing more."

"You're lying." She blurted. The others looked at her, she was usually quiet. Amber took a bite of ice cream calmly.

"No I'm not," retorted Natasha.

___She is an excellent liar, though__, _mused Ma'at. Amber decided to relay the message.

"Ma'at says you're really good at lying though, so don't feel too bad.." Natasha blinked.

"Don't let Tony know."

"None of the guys are going to know, agreed?" Pepper looked at them all sternly, then looked back at Natasha.

"So what did happen?"

"Oh you know, we were in Vegas...what happens there stays there..."

"Secret couple?" Wanda offered.

"Yeah, something like that..."

There was a pause in conversation. Then Wanda spoke up.

"So you can tell if anyone lies?"

"Yeah. Goddess of Truth, remember?"

"That would have come in handy with Loki," snorted Natasha. Amber had heard of Loki before, and knew of the battle that took place with the original Avengers in New York, but she didn't know the full story.

"So yeah, about that, I never got told the full story on him,"

"Well, from what I've read and been told, Loki is the adopted brother of Thor. They live in a realm called Asguard, and when Loki found out he was actually from some icy realm I can't remember the name of and not Asguard, he went a little crazy," Pepper explained.

"And Loki is younger than Thor, so he always thought he had to prove himself and has serious daddy issues," huffed Natasha, "and since he couldn't take the throne in Asguard, he tried to take over Earth."

"Hmmm. I'm on the same page as Amber, but I'm a bit familiar with Norse mythology. Isn't Loki the Norse God of Mischief, Magic, and Lies?" asked Wanda.

"I've never heard Loki so well described," Natasha said flatly. Amber's mind was reeling. Other gods? Other realms?

___Ma'at, what do you know of this?_

___Ahhh Asguard. We broke of from their society to live in the tenth realm. We are the same race, evolved different abilities. One is the development of rainbow wings, or like how we change Midguardians into ourselves._

___Why do you do that?_

___It is a way to continue ourselves if there was no way to reproduce in the normal fashion. Normally, I would have passed on by now, but you still need my guidance and wisdom._

"Amber?" the others were staring at her.

"Huh?"

"Is anybody home?" tried Pepper.

"Oh sorry. I was just asking Ma'at if she had heard of Asguard." Pepper's phone beeped.

"Hang on a second..." her eyes scanned the text, "oh, Tony says that Thor just got here!"

…...

…...

**Meh.****The part I've been wanting to write is next, so I PROMISE the next chapter will be better.**

**And yeah the way Amber got her powers is kinda random, but I'm trying to explain it better**


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